I have a mother and whose own mother and all siblings have underactive thyroid. I am 48. I have been tested (again!) My main issue is tiredness. I often take B 12 and have taken vitamin D for about a year and the B12 and vit D results are just now in range. Temperature low except after food.

I have been tested every year for the past four of five, but I don't have my results, I've always just been told I'm in range - I had these done for a nerve problem at a different doctors and kept hold of them!

I have recently been anaemic (not tested - I can tell, I get low and it shows! no stamina and very pale lips and gums) started up on an iron supplement about a month ago (a while after this blood test). I keep wondering why I seem to need so much supplementation just to keep my B12, iron and vit D just above the lowest level. I thought I may have low stomach acid, but then thought (catch 22) it could be the thyroid. Does the iron make a difference to the thyroid working too? I don't eat any iodine containing foods (I find what I have read about this confusing).

I have seen a supplement called 'thyrostim' which I have wondered about taking...

I have only just joined this site after a terrible experience at an endo and needed to start taking control of my life and condition and it has helped me enormously. I have read and read and read and you do go around in circles. I don't know anything about supplements as I am currently on T4 and T3 replacement, which is not working as it should do and I am hoping when I see a private endo he will see about Armour or something like that, which is natural.

I was reading my full Dr's records as I got a copy and I noticed that my iron level is low and I always struggle with my iron which i also find crazy as I have a good diet and eat red meat, green veggies etc. There are some suggestions that absorbtion may be the issue and having coeliac diease may be a cause (this has been ruled out). I am trying to look at what I can take and when to see if this helps. Low iron can be caused by heavy periods which is also a symptom of underactive thyroid both of which I have.

The symptoms you describe are exactly how I feel but as you say can be the symptoms of other things too. Have you been tested for the menopause? I wondered about it for me (I am 46) but apparently I am not close yet. There is also some information on here about a Dr Peatman (I think) which may be useful to read.

Thank you. I have very high oestrogen levels (tested for something else) so I don't think its that.

I will look up Dr Peatman.

I'm sorry your T4 and T3 replacement isn't helping, my mum has been on just T4 for years and I think its left her seriously wonky, she is very fragile emotionally and the more I read the more I think T3 would help. I think an endo is a brilliant idea and I really hope he is able to unravel it for you.

I expect you've seen it, but there is a bewildering amount of information on stopthethyroidmadness.com you may find something useful, but I hope your endo can help

It is such a riddle trying to sort out why we feel so awful. My GP, who is good and listened, said that we can get stuck in our heads that it is the thyroid (or whatever else) and refuse to believe it could be anything else. He said that is why they need to rule out other things. I said that I agreed and that was why I was happy to have any test they wanted me to have to rule out any problems but that after all was ruled out you have to at some point start treating the main cause (in my case the thyroid). At that point he did look at me differently, perhaps he saw I was reasonable, and agree that was the case.

I think the T4 has caused more problems than it solved for me. I think it has replaced my bodies T4 which it can use with a synthetic version which it struggles to use. Putting T3 in has helped but I still feel awful, truly awful.

It seems your GP has been willing to run tests as most people on here manage to get TSH and T4 done but often not the antibody and definately not theT3. Do you have any other auto immune conditions? Have they tested you for lupus? Also I think if you are tested later in the day your TSH is lower than first thing in the morning. I may be sensible to go early morning for the test next time.

My gp isn't the one who did the tests, it was a neurologist, my gp is lovely, but overstretched.

I have looked up Dr Peatfield, this article is interesting, and mentions the use of armour and the 'other' thyroid hormones T0, T1 and T2 - perhaps your problem lies there? and of course even armour may have different percentages than humans produce

Hi. I can only say that i went through a simular thing in the sense that my thyroid tests remained within range for about four years before they slipped over (by a .10 in the TSH) on the results and suddenly I could be treated! The wonders of the Gold Stnadard set for GP's! I see Dr Skinner at Birmingham -he is very good, although it was Dr Peatfield who recommended that I went on Armour (and this was key for me). It might be worth reviewing the vitamin D levels -I know you are within just 'normal' levles but there is much debate ove what 'normall' is at the moment. Inadequate levles of vitmian D can affect your uptake of the thyroid hormones in the tissue (Look at The vitmain D Council website. ) This was my problem and the reason why I still fetl tired with all the other hypo symptoms..... Seeing someone like Skinner or Peatfield will help you to unpick ot all so worth the investment. Hope this helps.

You are certainly under medicated in my view - your TSH should be under 1, your free t3 and free t4 are way too low.

My tsh is -0.02, my free t4 is 25 (range 12-22) and my free t3 is 5 and the range is upto 6..... and I feel F A N T A S T I C

it has taken me over 4 years to get here. Please tell your GP that you need an increase and be referred to an Endo who will prescribe T3.

If you cannot get this far then Dr Skinner is your answer, it is just unbelievable that hundreds of people have to pay privately for Dr Skinner to prescribe the correct meds or amount of meds and to tell your GP what to prescribe!